Page 21 of Tamiko and the Two Janitors
“Yes.” Melissa focused on the person at her side, searchingfor the connection that would allow him to touch her soul. With Kith, she hadto keep a tight rein on her innate strength. Battlers tended to have anoffensive aptitude, and a surge of raw power could devastate an Amaranthine. ButRook was no Kith.
Faint impressions sharpened into clarity and left her inawe. The person who held her so carefully was vast. Her stellar ranking was a pebblecompared to the mountain that was Kinloo-fel Nightspangle. She whispered,“You’re very old, aren’t you?”
“Very.”
She’d never been this close to any of her academy teachers. Despitethe length of their lifespans, their time was limited. They were like parentswith too many children eager for attention. Much like the wolf cubs in the Kithshelter, for every apprentice chosen, ten or twenty or fifty were left wanting.
Melissa hadn’t truly understood the opportunities that anenclave might provide. Barely an hour ago, she’d been mourning her lack ofprospects. “I think I’ve always wanted something like this,” she whispered.
“Friendship? Kinship?”
She nodded. “The Amaranthine at our school were outnumbered,but that didn’t stop me from wishing one of them would single me out.”
“But you were never chosen?”
“Not even once.”
Rook murmured a strange word that felt like an endearment. “MayI make an intensely personal observation with regards to the nature of yoursoul?”
Melissa fidgeted. “Yes?”
“Most Amaranthine of my acquaintance are most comfortablewith a pliant soul. They value softness and sweetness, the elation of tending withouta thought to the danger.” Rook said, “You have a piquant quality.”
“I’m … sour?”
“No. You remind me of strong coffee—alluring, bold, andbitter enough to scald the uninitiated. Commanding a powerful response andassuring a lifelong addiction.”
“I’m bitter.”
Rook laughed. “Leave it to a female to pick the insult outof a rhapsody of praise. Melissa, I’m saying that you’re an acquired taste.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
He hummed then asked, “What is the difference between a wolfand a dog?”
“The dog clans are more closely aligned with human society.Some say they domesticated themselves.”
“In the same way, those pliant, pleasing reavers offer anAmaranthine a nice, tame tending experience.” Rook shook his head. “You, mydear, have a wild soul, fierce and fraught with danger. Can you guess what sortof Amaranthine might understand your appeal?”
Melissa peered hopefully into his eyes. “A wolf who likescoffee?”
“If you can track down something so rare, I’m quite surethey’d be smitten.”
She hugged him hard.
“There’s my girl.” He rocked her back and forth. “You mayconsider yourselfmyapprentice if you like. I can teach you thedelicate alchemy of brewing coffee.”
An Amaranthine mentor. What would Mom say if her daughtertraded her battler classification for a barista’s? Right now, it hardlymattered. Melissa sighed and said, “You smell like coffee.”
“Everyone who works here does. Except the squirrels. I’dswear they bathe in nutmeg.”
“I accept—the job, the apprenticeship, everything.” Sheshyly added, “I’m glad I came.”
“Excellent. Next time you come in, I’ll show you theentrance to our Kith shelter.”
“The enclave has a separate one?”
Rook shook his head. “Ours is private. It’s Doon-wen’s. Canyou come in the morning?”
